vs
| 10/11/24 - Away | 28-6 W |
| 09/29/23 - Home | 49-0 W |
| 10/28/22 - Away | 48-17 W |
| 11/26/21 - Neutral | 28-7 W |
| 10/23/21 - Home | 46-37 W |
| + 5 more games |
Mater Dei has gone a perfect 10-0 against Servite recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Monarchs will host the Friars at 7:00 p.m.
Mater Dei is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: Santa Margarita, who was ranked fourth at the time (Mater Dei was ranked fifth). The Monarchs and the Eagles were almost perfectly matched up on Friday, but the Monarchs suffered a 7-6 defeat. The matchup marked the Monarchs' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Mater Dei didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut CJ Lavender Jr.. Another thorn in Santa Margarita's side was Shaun Scott, who picked up a sack, forced one fumble, and made five total tackles (1.5 for loss).
Meanwhile, after only seven points in their last contest, Servite made sure to put some points up on the board against JSerra Catholic on Friday. The Friars took down the Lions 43-26.
Servite's win came from a few key players Mater Dei will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Steele Holcomb, who rushed for 89 yards and a pair of TDs on only nine carries. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in August of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Kale Murphy, who threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Servite proved: they limited JSerra Catholic to a paltry 3.2 yards per carry. The team can thank Allen 'Cinco' Kennett V for the heroic effort on defense: he. Servite didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 8.3.
Servite's defense also made the game a nightmare for the opposing QB, racking up eight sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Kennett V and Sevelino Taliauli, who racked up four sacks between them.
Mater Dei's loss dropped their record down to 4-2. As for Servite, their victory bumped their record up to 5-2.
Everything went Mater Dei's way against Servite in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as Mater Dei made off with a 28-6 win. Will the Monarchs repeat their success, or do the Friars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
